Indore, November 14 (IANS). Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami has made a strong comeback on the cricket field after almost a year. He made a memorable comeback in the Ranji Trophy by taking four wickets at the Holkar Stadium as Bengal took a first innings lead over Madhya Pradesh.
On Thursday, the 34-year-old fast bowler, playing his first Ranji Trophy match since 2018, displayed his class, experience and immense confidence. He left his mark for Bengal with a brilliant spell of (4-54) in 19 overs.
After not taking a single wicket on the first day, Shami made a strong comeback on the second day. In the very beginning, he dismissed Madhya Pradesh captain Shubham Sharma for just eight runs.
Shami’s ability to break partnerships and destroy the lower order was fully visible. In a dangerous spell, he bowled Saransh Jain and then sent Kumar Karthikeya and Kulwant Khejroliya to the pavilion due to which the host team faltered.
The performance of the experienced fast bowler helped Bengal take a crucial lead of 61 runs after the first innings, giving them a solid start to their campaign. Despite not being completely in his element, Shami continued to trouble the Madhya Pradesh batsmen.
Shami is playing in this Ranji Trophy match after a gap of five years. His last match for Bengal was a one-off fixture against Kerala in November 2018, just before India’s historic 2-1 Test series win in Australia.
During that Border-Gavaskar series, Shami made an important contribution by taking 16 wickets. Shami is trying to regain his fitness, so his good performance in Ranji could pave the way for his return to the Indian team for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia starting in Perth from November 22.
–IANS
AMJ/RR
